Sweet Tooth
by Darkrealmist v.2
Summary: Victor and Hop take a breather from the Gym Challenge to evolve the Hammerlocke Battle Café owner's Milcery.


Sweet Tooth

Author's Note: Victor's lineup is based on my lineup at this stage in the game. Enjoy the story and R&R.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of the Pokémon franchise.

Summary:

Victor and Hop take a breather from the Gym Challenge to evolve the Hammerlocke Battle Café owner's Milcery.

* * *

Hammerlocke's fortified walls awed Hop as he panted up the massive stone staircase preceding Galar's proud heart. Public captivation in Dynamaxing obviously affected considerations by Chairman Rose's company that went into designing the region's infrastructure, but even by those prerequisites, this city was a blinding castle!

The first business the knackered farm boy squared away was having his team checked out at the Pokémon Center. His matchup with Bede had left the party in poor shape. He soothed his gutted ego stocking up on Potions and Burn Heals.

Once his Pokémon recovered, Hop rounded the corner to grab brekkie at the Battle Café. He saw Victor already eating, so ordered avocado on toast and joined him.

"Oof! I'm cream-crackered!" The Champion's little brother deigned not to sit. "That wally beat Wooloo bad!"

Inteleon, Centiskorch, Drednaw, and Orbeetle were too large or intimidating for the coffeehouse's limited seating and just-out-of-bed patrons. Corviknight took a Poké Job assisting the Flying Taxi service. Boltund was exempt in either respect, providing the sheep a playmate while their Trainers chatted.

Or while Hop chatted _at_ Victor. His friend had a scone in his mouth.

"Am I dragging down Lee's good name? I earned three Badges, yet I'm being defeated a lot on the side during this Gym Challenge! Maybe I'm rubbish…"

Victor swallowed, disagreeing implicitly. Hop had long known his neighbour was more of a listener than a talker, and could deduce meaning from virtual silence. Called it a "Postwick power."

"It's Telepathy!" their mums would cheer, as though their sons were Pokémon themselves.

Seeking tonic for the bad thoughts running through his head, Hop placed a sullen hand on Vic's knit cap. Transparent about _everything_, no doubt taking cues from Leon's on-camera personality. Marnie almost got the wrong idea fetching ice at the Budew Drop Inn in Motostoke when she caught him knocking on a different room's door half past midnight.

Fact is, Hop slept best with a Poké Doll beside him. And since he expended all his escaping very strong-looking Onix and Piloswine, he borrowed one of Vic's.

Optimism refueled, he put up his dukes and unst-ed his fists as he always did, swearing he'd grow stronger.

Café Master Bernard, a believer in that personal touch, delivered Hop's food to the table for him.

Finally parking his arse in a chair, the townie noticed a Pokémon flitting behind Bernard he'd never seen before (not even on the telly). Victor had encountered them on Route 4 and in another Battle Café. Benefits of managing his time on his journey, whereas Hop pretty much sprinted through the previous Gyms.

She reminded him of Moomoo Milk, globs frothing like the bolus in a lava lamp.

Hop consulted his Rotom Dex.

"Milcery, the Cream Pokémon. A Fairy-type. They say that any patisserie visited by Milcery is guaranteed success and good fortune. Zzzt-zzt!"

"A Milcery, huh? Nice!"

"Those are marvellous Pokémon you chaps have there! Mind helping an old bean evolve his Milcery? If you do, we'll give you a treat, on the house!"

"Oi, how 'bout a go, mate?" Hop frisked Victor's opinion. After losing to the sod Rose endorsed, slowing the pace sounded essential.

The childhood chums unpacked some early morning aggro in the Wild Area, bringing Bernard's Milcery into Raid Battles. It was a larf because they met a Hoenn bloke who actually yelled "It's a Raid Battle!" prior to the start of each tussle.

Milcery lacked offensive moves minus Tackle; thus, Victor hung back supporting Raboot, Sableye, and their allies' Sudowoodo, Bisharp, and Garchomp. Victor and Hop's group also raced a rival squad containing Wartortle, Jolteon, and Gengar across the Giant's Cap for the chance to fight Dynamax Pokémon.

How competitive it became…You'd think they were chasing down a Lugia!

Learning of what they intended to accomplish, the Trainer from Hoenn cited an evolution chart in his Galar travel book which spelled out a crucial piece of information: Milcery don't evolve via experience; rather, the creatures shift colour and shape under certain conditions unique to the species. Pokédexes _didn't_ have all the answers!

Stopping for brunch in Hammerlocke Station, Victor decorated Milcery with a Strawberry Sweet he found locally. Hop then read "recipes" off a copy of the guide he purchased at the newsstand, and Milcery picked the style she loved best.

Bangin'! It was the right hour of day!

Her amorphous body hugged tight to him, Victor spun on his foot anticlockwise less than five seconds, making a pose Hop was sure to chortle over. Light whipped around Milcery, and she egressed the dazzling gleam a changed Pokémon.

Ruby cream skin. Sugared "hair" compressed into berry swirls. An aromatherapeutic sweet veil. Hop's head swam summing the kilocalories secreted by that fluffy confectioner's dream.

"Alcremie, the evolved form of Milcery. The Cream Pokémon. The cells that compose its cream fluctuated suddenly during evolution, giving the cream a sweet and tart flavour. Zzzrt!"

Bernard was really chuffed they evolved his assistant, urging a tag meet without delay.

"Okeydokey! Alcremie! Slurpuff!"

Victor chose Centiskorch. Hop sent Raboot.

Due in part to their absorptive anatomies – Alcremie's adaptive, hardening texture and Slurpuff's air-filled fur – Bernard's Pokémon soaked up damage while attacking with a song, but two consecutive Flame Wheels and Double Kicks, and the opposing team fainted.

Still over the moon, Bernard paid what he promised, awarding the winners Clover Sweets they could use if they caught their own Milcery someday.

"This is ace! I can write the next page in the tale of my legend!" Earnest Hop hopped to it.

He scooted so speedily from the shop he forgot to ask where to _find_ a Milcery.

That lad. Such a sweet tooth on that one.


End file.
